Dairy-free question: is whey okay?
My sonRyan has not been formally diagnosed ASD yet (dx scheduled for Marchby a dev ped, and/or in January by a DAN! doc), but I suspect he maybe on the spectrum. We started him dairy-free on 10/24, then put himon Nystatin on 11/3. We’ve yet to do the gluten-free.
Yesterday, I noticed that almost everything packaged (fish sticks,chicken fingers, etc) has “whey” listed as an ingredient. I’mwondering if whey should be avoided. It seems to me that itshouldn’t, and I use the following reasoning: milk contains twoprimary proteins, casein (75% abundance) and whey (25% abundance).Whey is simply another protein found in cow’s milk, but it is notcasein, which, it’s my understanding, is the protein that can causethe optiatic state (along with gluten). The diet is called “CFGF”,not “CFGFWF” - - the name seems to imply that it is casein inparticular, not all proteins from milk, that are the problem.
Can anyone provide me with some reasoning counter to this? I’manxious to know the answer, as it would drastically change what ourson is able to eat.
This post tagged as: gluten free dairy free diet, gluten casein free diet, what is gluten free
Kayleen Mermis said,
Wrote on November 28, 2006 @ 10:53 am
I’m a newcomer to this website, and todietary intervention. My sonRyan has not been formally diagnosed ASD yet (dx scheduled for Marchby a dev ped, and/or in January by a DAN! doc), but I suspect he maybe on the spectrum. We started him dairy-free on 10/24, then put himon Nystatin on 11/3. We’ve yet to do the gluten-free.
Yesterday, I noticed that almost everything packaged (fish sticks,chicken fingers, etc) has “whey” listed as an ingredient. I’mwondering if whey should be avoided. It seems to me that itshouldn’t, and I use the following reasoning: milk contains twoprimary proteins, casein (75% abundance) and whey (25% abundance).Whey is simply another protein found in cow’s milk, but it is notcasein, which, it’s my understanding, is the protein that can causethe optiatic state (along with gluten). The diet is called “CFGF”,not “CFGFWF” - - the name seems to imply that it is casein inparticular, not all proteins from milk, that are the problem.
Can anyone provide me with some reasoning counter to this? I’manxious to know the answer, as it would drastically change what ourson is able to eat.
Rosaura Randles said,
Wrote on November 28, 2006 @ 2:29 pm
Table 2. Label ingredients that indicate the presence of milk proteins butter casein caseinate (potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron caseinates. cream cheese curds lactose lactalbumin lactoglobulin margarine milk (also buttermilk) milk solid whey whey powder yoghurt
Rosaura Randles said,
Wrote on November 28, 2006 @ 9:29 pm
Allergic reactions to casein and/or whey protein are caused by an immunologicalsensitivity to milk protein - rather than the sugar. A reaction to casein orwhey can cause breathing problems, hives and rashes, abdominal pain, andpossibly serious weight loss. While there are at least 30 types of potentiallyallergy-causing proteins in milk, casein is the most prevalent. The proteinslactalbumin and lactoglobulin, which comprise the whey proteins, are also knownto cause problems.
Some milk-sensitive individuals produce IgE antibodies to milk proteins, butsome develop a milk protein “intolerance,” which results from the body mountinga non-IgE immune response to milk protein. The majority of IgE-mediatedreactions to milk involve both the casein and whey fractions,
Wesley Marske said,
Wrote on November 30, 2006 @ 9:52 am
It is standard to avoid whey. Although your reasoning seems to make sense,and is the same reason some people use gee as a butter substitute. I have seenit written many times and I agree that you are taking a big chance if all thecasein has not been removed. This ofcourse is your decision and as we all do,you have to sort through all the info and decide what makes sense to you andworks for you. Good Luck.
Allen Lawrentz said,
Wrote on December 2, 2006 @ 9:50 am
I actually intend to remove all casein, and that’s really the point.Whey is not casein, not a derivative of casein, not “found in” casein,etc. It’s a completely different protein, that just happens to befound in cow’s milk, just like the protein casein. So I’m wondering ifit just “feels better/safer” for parents to remove all milkproteins/ingredients, or if there is some evidence that whey proteinaffects the brain simlilarly to the way casein and gluten proteins do.
I tried contacting Lisa Lewis / Karyn Seroussi, but they discourageemails with Q/A (understandably), as they must be overwhelmed trying tofield them all.